1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to the field of telecommunications and, more particularly, to a method and system for instructing a network element to query an application processor in a telecommunications network.
2. Description of the Related Art
With the development of complex telecommunications networks, such as AT&T's public switched telephone network (PSTN), there continues to be a growing demand for customized call treatment that provides subscribers with a variety of "featured" services through the telecommunications network on calls to general destination numbers. These "featured" services may include, but are not limited to, "800" service processing, customized billing, call forwarding, answering services, voice messaging, automatic call back, etc.
Since the computer processing switches that route calls within the telecommunications network typically lack sufficient capability to process these customized services, separate service processors, such as a Network Control Point (NCP), have been incorporated into the network to assist in providing switch service features and capabilities. The service logic and customer records necessary for processing these customized features reside primarily in the service processors interfacing with the network.
Currently, a network element, such as a Segmentation Directory (SD), is frequently utilized to direct telephone calls to the appropriate service processor, The SD is essentially a large network database containing records relating to the identity and network address of one or more service processors that are capable of processing the call in accordance with the particular services subscribed to by the subscriber. The SD may be a discrete network element or may be incorporated within another network element such as a Signal Transfer Point (STP). Communication or signalling, between the switch, SD and service processor are commonly performed over a signalling network, such as the Common Channel Signalling, System No. 7 (SS7), which interconnects the various components of the telecommunications network.
In such telecommunications systems, however, it is possible that, under certain unavoidable failure conditions, a call over the network will be unable to be processed or otherwise lost. These unavoidable failure conditions include: (1) when the SD does not have an available SS7 network route to the appropriate service processor; (2) during conditions of SS7 network route congestion to the service processor; or (3) when the switch is required to utilize the switch's backup signalling routing function known as Alternate Signalling Transport Network (ASTN).